Post by Okwes on Feb 3, 2006 10:18:24 GMT -5
Judge defers to Hawaiian tradition to settle dispute
By ALEXANDRE DA SILVA
Associated Press Writer
01/31/2006
HONOLULU -- A federal judge is offering Native Hawaiian groups and the
state's largest museum an unusual alternative to settle their dispute
over a cache of priceless island artifacts: Sit in a circle and pray.
Hooponopono, an ancient Native Hawaiian mediation process meaning "to
make things right," has traditionally been used to solve fights between
brothers, disputes over family inheritance and divorce.
This particular fight involves the Bishop Museum and 14 groups,
including a state agency that oversees Native Hawaiian affairs. At stake
are 83 Hawaiian artifacts that have been missing from the museum since
2000.
Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawaii Nei, a Native Hawaiian group dedicated
to the proper treatment of ancestral remains, borrowed the objects from
the museum and hid them in a secret cave on the Big Island. They include
a human-hair wig, containers with human teeth and carved wooden
statuettes of family gods.
U.S. District Judge David Ezra, who already jailed one Hawaiian leader
for 21 days for contempt because he refused to reveal the cave's
location, has offered the process as an alternative to the federal
judicial system.
Federal court officials said they could not recall a previous instance
of hooponopono being used there. It has been used a few times at the
state level, mostly in cases pending in family court, said Elizabeth
Kent, director of the Hawaii Judiciary Center for Alternative Dispute
Resolution.
Hui Malama argues that the objects are funerary and not meant for
public display. But two other groups sued in Ezra's court, saying the
articles need to be unearthed and properly repatriated under a federal
law.
Some observers familiar with the Hawaiian process proposed by Ezra
have their doubts whether it will work. If traditional rules are
followed, they say, group members would be required to sit in a circle,
pray, confess to wrongdoing, apologize and forgive.
"You have to let everything out. You cannot hold anything back.
Otherwise, you haven't fully confessed and you can't be fully forgiven,"
said Keala Losch, a Pacific Studies professor at the University of
Hawaii. "I don't think people are willing to apologize or admit they are
wrong."
In the traditional process, group members will not be allowed to speak
to each other, but must direct comments or questions to court-appointed
mediators. The process can take hours, weeks -- or longer.
The mediators are Nainoa Thompson, a master of navigation techniques
used by ancient Hawaiians and a trustee of the all-Native Hawaiian
Kamehameha Schools, and Earl Kawaa, site coordinator for a Kamehameha
outreach program in the beachside community of Waimanalo.
Hui Malama's leader, Edward Halealoha Ayau of Molokai, who was jailed
over the issue, said he was hopeful but not optimistic. Ezra released
him to home confinement so he could participate in the hooponopono.
"One thing I learned in prison is not to have expectations, because
they may not turn out the way you want it to," Ayau said.
The two groups suing Hui Malama -- Na Lei Alii Kawananakoa and the
Royal Hawaiian Academy of Traditional Arts -- want all 14 claimants to
decide on the objects' fate under provisions of the Native American
Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, a 1990 federal law that governs
the repatriation of human remains and artifacts.
But despite its goal of bringing people together, mediation this time
likely won't include all groups. So far, only Hui Malama, Na Lei Alii
and the Royal Academy have confirmed participation.
This could be another problem, said Naomi Losch, who teaches at the
University of Hawaii.
"It's going to be difficult to exclude people from the process and try
to get a resolution," said Losch.
Jodi Yamamoto, legal counsel for the Bishop Museum, wouldn't confirm
or deny the museum's participation, saying she was sworn to secrecy by
the judge.
At least during initial mediation, the state's Office of Hawaiian
Affairs, another group claiming the items, won't be present, said Lance
Foster, director of native rights, land and culture.
DeSoto Brown, who's been collections manager of the Bishop Museum's
archives department for 18 years, said "the level of disagreement has
been very strong" among the Hawaiian groups.
But he hopes those involved "will do so with a sense of a new
beginning."
On the net: Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawaii Nei:
huimalama.tripod.com/; Bishop Museum:
www.bishopmuseum.org/
By ALEXANDRE DA SILVA
Associated Press Writer
01/31/2006
HONOLULU -- A federal judge is offering Native Hawaiian groups and the
state's largest museum an unusual alternative to settle their dispute
over a cache of priceless island artifacts: Sit in a circle and pray.
Hooponopono, an ancient Native Hawaiian mediation process meaning "to
make things right," has traditionally been used to solve fights between
brothers, disputes over family inheritance and divorce.
This particular fight involves the Bishop Museum and 14 groups,
including a state agency that oversees Native Hawaiian affairs. At stake
are 83 Hawaiian artifacts that have been missing from the museum since
2000.
Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawaii Nei, a Native Hawaiian group dedicated
to the proper treatment of ancestral remains, borrowed the objects from
the museum and hid them in a secret cave on the Big Island. They include
a human-hair wig, containers with human teeth and carved wooden
statuettes of family gods.
U.S. District Judge David Ezra, who already jailed one Hawaiian leader
for 21 days for contempt because he refused to reveal the cave's
location, has offered the process as an alternative to the federal
judicial system.
Federal court officials said they could not recall a previous instance
of hooponopono being used there. It has been used a few times at the
state level, mostly in cases pending in family court, said Elizabeth
Kent, director of the Hawaii Judiciary Center for Alternative Dispute
Resolution.
Hui Malama argues that the objects are funerary and not meant for
public display. But two other groups sued in Ezra's court, saying the
articles need to be unearthed and properly repatriated under a federal
law.
Some observers familiar with the Hawaiian process proposed by Ezra
have their doubts whether it will work. If traditional rules are
followed, they say, group members would be required to sit in a circle,
pray, confess to wrongdoing, apologize and forgive.
"You have to let everything out. You cannot hold anything back.
Otherwise, you haven't fully confessed and you can't be fully forgiven,"
said Keala Losch, a Pacific Studies professor at the University of
Hawaii. "I don't think people are willing to apologize or admit they are
wrong."
In the traditional process, group members will not be allowed to speak
to each other, but must direct comments or questions to court-appointed
mediators. The process can take hours, weeks -- or longer.
The mediators are Nainoa Thompson, a master of navigation techniques
used by ancient Hawaiians and a trustee of the all-Native Hawaiian
Kamehameha Schools, and Earl Kawaa, site coordinator for a Kamehameha
outreach program in the beachside community of Waimanalo.
Hui Malama's leader, Edward Halealoha Ayau of Molokai, who was jailed
over the issue, said he was hopeful but not optimistic. Ezra released
him to home confinement so he could participate in the hooponopono.
"One thing I learned in prison is not to have expectations, because
they may not turn out the way you want it to," Ayau said.
The two groups suing Hui Malama -- Na Lei Alii Kawananakoa and the
Royal Hawaiian Academy of Traditional Arts -- want all 14 claimants to
decide on the objects' fate under provisions of the Native American
Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, a 1990 federal law that governs
the repatriation of human remains and artifacts.
But despite its goal of bringing people together, mediation this time
likely won't include all groups. So far, only Hui Malama, Na Lei Alii
and the Royal Academy have confirmed participation.
This could be another problem, said Naomi Losch, who teaches at the
University of Hawaii.
"It's going to be difficult to exclude people from the process and try
to get a resolution," said Losch.
Jodi Yamamoto, legal counsel for the Bishop Museum, wouldn't confirm
or deny the museum's participation, saying she was sworn to secrecy by
the judge.
At least during initial mediation, the state's Office of Hawaiian
Affairs, another group claiming the items, won't be present, said Lance
Foster, director of native rights, land and culture.
DeSoto Brown, who's been collections manager of the Bishop Museum's
archives department for 18 years, said "the level of disagreement has
been very strong" among the Hawaiian groups.
But he hopes those involved "will do so with a sense of a new
beginning."
On the net: Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawaii Nei:
huimalama.tripod.com/; Bishop Museum:
www.bishopmuseum.org/